The present invention relates to a holding fixture, in particular for medical use, for supporting and fixing articles, for example a set of surgical instruments, to be sterilized. The holding fixture is constructed to be inserted into a support panel, which to this end has a large number of insertion apertures for a plurality of such holding fixtures for different articles.
Such holding fixtures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,868, issued to Herbert Schainholz on Jan. 23, 1979. The device disclosed in that patent includes a perforated support panel set into a suitcase-like receptacle, and instrument support bases which can be inserted into apertures in the support insert and locked in place. The instrument support bases in turn receive comblike support or bridge members onto or into which surgical instruments, for example, can be placed. For positionally correct fixation of such instruments, the known device provides similar holding fixtures set into a second support panel that is fitted into the lid of this suitcase-like receptacle. However, instead of the bridge-like support members, these holding fixtures have elastic parts, for example foam blocks, such that when the lid of the receptacle is closed, these elastic parts fix the instrument parts that are to be retained on their support bases.
It will be readily apparent that the instruments will be fixed in place only when the instrument receptacle is closed. When the receptacle is open, the instruments are no longer positively held in place and can fall out if the receptacle is tilted or jarred. In other words, what is provided is a kind of "collective" securing of the articles to be sterilized in their positions on the support panel when the receptacle is closed.
The holding fixtures disclosed in the cited patent have only limitedly suitability for medical instruments, such as endoscopes, that are complicated in shape, for example comprising various parts of differing diameters and differing in shape from one another.
Relatively short annular elements of large diameter, for example, cannot be satisfactorily fixed with these known holding fixtures.